Netflix’s Rebel Moon was initially planned to be part of the Star Wars universe. But, after talks fell through between Disney LucasFilm and director Zack Snyder, he and his team decided to create their own sci-fi spacesaga with their own backstory and world-building. 

The end result told the story of Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former Imperium soldier for the current totalitarian regime called the Motherworld, who finds a new home in a farming colony on the moon of Veldt. As she is living peacefully in her new home, her people are threatened by the Motherworld and her past. She takes the lead in finding other warriors who could stand against the Imperium soldiers before they take over Veldt. 

Like many of Snyder’s other projects, he thought about this world filled with humans, aliens, and all kinds of lifeforms and ensured that people of color as well as nonbinary characters were included into the story. In fact, Snyder told many of the actors to use their own cultural background and experiences to frame their character. 

“For each of the characters, the actors really tried to draw on their own sort of life experience and their own cultures to inform the cultures, the film — especially the country that they came from,” Snyder tells The Nerds of Color. “I felt we could allow whatever ethnic diversity we have in the movie to be represented in there. This is a completely original story. These characters have never been portrayed or written. It just made sense to me that Doona [Bae] would use their native Korean culture into her character and allow us to bask in that.”

In our interview with Snyder and the cast of the film, including Boutella, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Staz Nair, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, and E. Duffy, they break down their characters’ inspirations and how some of them used their own cultural backgrounds to shape their characters. 

Check it out below:

Rebel Moon: Part One: A Child of Fire premieres on December 22 on Netflix